Kroll's Canonical Authors

Kroll put together a "Scientifictionally-Compiled, Perpetually-Preliminary List of Canonical Authors" (last updated 27 August 1998; URL: http://www.anaserve.com/~kroll/lemon/authors.htm). He used a scoring system to assign "votes" to various authors, based on his own criteria. The 53 authors with 30 or more points ("votes") are listed below. (We found Kroll's list on 20 January 2000, long after we compiled our own list of "famous authors". 26 of these -- one half -- are on our "famous list," indicating significant overlap):

Points

Name

93

Asimov, Isaac

92

Heinlein, Robert A.

86

Clarke, Arthur C.

82

Leiber, Fritz

76

Anderson, Poul

74

Wells, H.G.

72

Le Guin, Ursula K.

71

Zelazny, Roger

65

Bradbury, Ray

63

Silverberg, Robert

62

Pohl, Frederik

61

Sturgeon, Theodore

57

Simak, Clifford D.

55

Niven, Larry

54

Bester, Alfred

52

Ellison, Harlan

50

Dick, Philip K.

49

Blish, James

49

de Camp, L. Sprague

49

Delany, Samuel R.

48

Aldiss, Brian W.

47

Dickson, Gordon R.

47

Varley, John

46

Farmer, Philip Jose

46

Vance, Jack

45

Ballard, J.G.

43

van Vogt, A.E.

43

Wolfe, Gene

42

Sheckley, Robert

42

Verne, Jules

40

Burroughs, Edgar Rice

39

Herbert, Frank

38

Brunner, John

38

Williamson, Jack

37

Anthony, Piers

37

Kuttner, Henry

35

Disch, Thomas M.

34

Kornbluth, Cyril M.

34

Miller, Jr., Walter M.

34

Norton, Andre

34

Stapledon, Olaf

33

Haldeman, Joe

33

Moorcock, Michael

32

del Rey, Lester

32

Russ, Joanna

32

Tiptree, Jr., James

32

Vonnegut Jr., Kurt

32

Wyndham, John

31

Knight, Damon

31

Smith, Cordwainer

30

Card, Orson Scott

30

McCaffrey, Anne

30

Russell, Eric Frank

Award-Winning Canadian Novelists

Authors who have won the Canadian Aurora Award for "Best English-Language Novel by a Canadian".

Phyllis Gotlieb

Eileen Kernaghan

Guy Gavriel Kay

Charles de Lint

William Gibson

Dave Duncan

Robert J. Sawyer

Sean Stewart

Candas Jane Dorsey

Robert Charles Wilson

World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement Awards

Year

Author

1975

Robert Bloch

1976

Fritz Leiber

1977

Ray Bradbury

1978

Frank Belknap Long

1979

Jorge Luis Borges

1980

Manly Wade Wellman

1981

C. L. Moore

1982

Italo Calvino

1983

Ronald Dahl

1984

L. Sprague de Camp

1984

Richard Matheson

1984

E. Hoffman Price

1984

Jack Vance

1984

Donald Wandrei

1985

Theodore Sturgeon

1986

Avram Davidson

1987

Jack Finney

1988

Everett F. Bleiler

1989

Evangeline Walton

1990

R. A. Lafferty

1991

Ray Russell

1992

Edd Cartier

1993

Harlan Ellison

1994

Jack Williamson

1996

Gene Wolfe

1997

Madeleine L'Engle

1998

Edward L. Ferman

1998

Andre Norton

1999

Hugh Cave

Jade Mountain's Top 20 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

Source: http://www.jademountain.com/AWR/Top20.html (23 March 2001).
(All of these are indexed in the Adherents.com literature database.)

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Slan by A.E. van Vogt

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

Way Station by Clifford Simak

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

Expiration Date by Tim Powers

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

Little, Big by John Crowley

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Player of Games by Iain Banks

Books that have won an AML Award for Fiction

Not all of these are science fiction or fantasy.

Year

Author

Title

1981

Marilyn M. Brown

The Earthkeepers

1983

Douglas H. Thayer

Summer Fire

1984

Herbert Harker

Circle of Fire

1988

Linda Sillitoe

Sideways to the Sun

1989

Judith Freeman

The Chinchilla Farm

1990

Franklin Fisher

Bones

1991

Orson Scott Card

Xenocide

1991

Gerald N. Lund

Like a Fire is BurningVol 2 of The Work and the Glory

1992

Martine Bates

The Dragon's Tapestry

1993

Martine Bates

The Prism Moon

1993

M. Shayne Bell

Washed by a Wave of Wind

1994

Anne Perry

The Sins of the Wolf

1999

Anne Perry

Tathea

2000

Margaret Blair Youngand Darius Aidan Gray

Standing on the Promises, Book 1:One More River to Cross

World Fantasy Award Best Novels

Year

Title

Author

1975

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

Patricia McKillip

1976

Bid Time Return

Richard Matheson

1977

Doctor Rat

William Kotzwinkle

1978

Our Lady of Darkness

Fritz Leiber

1979

Gloriana

Michael Moorcock

1980

Watchtower

Elizabeth A. Lynn

1981

The Shadow of The Torturer

Gene Wolfe

1982

Little, Big

John Crowley

1983

Nifft the Lean

Michael Shea

1984

The Dragon Waiting

John M. Ford

1985

The Bridge of Birds

Barry Hughart

1986

Song of Kali

Dan Simmons

1987

Perfume

Patrick Suskind

1988

Replay

Ken Grimwood

1989

Koko

Peter Straub

1990

Madouc

Jack Vance

1991

Only Begotten Daughter

James Morrow

1992

Boy's Life

Robert R. McCammon

1993

Last Call

Tim Powers

1994

Glimpses

Lewis Shiner

1995

Towing Jehovah

James Morrow

1996

The Prestige

Christopher Priest

1997

Godmother Night

Rachel Pollack

1998

The Physiognomy

Jeffrey Ford

1999

The Antelope Wife

Louise Erdrich

Amazon.com's Classic Science Fiction

The grand masters of science fiction defined the genre with these powerful stories full of grand ideas, stirring plots, and unforgettable characters. Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke are here, of course, as are Le Guin, Heinlein, and Herbert, making up a veritable science fiction hall of fame. No science fiction fan should miss these classics.

(These books are indexed in the Adherents.com literature database.) These are the works listed when the page was checked 17 August 2000:

The Stars My Destination

Alfred Bester

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Robert A. Heinlein

The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin

Rendezvous With Rama

Arthur C. Clarke

The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury

Foundation

Isaac Asimov

Dune

Frank Herbert

Hyperion

Dan Simmons

Slan

A. E. Van Vogt

Top 10 Most Controversial Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers

Note that authors may be considred controversial for a variety of reasons, such as subject matter, personal history, and merit/classification as a writer. Writing about subject matter (such as sex, racism) which would have been "controversial" in the science fiction community during the 1950s does not necessarily make a writer controversial if their work is not discussed. On the other hand, an author's subject matter or views may have nothing to do with what makes them controversial. Many would argue that the subject matter in George Lucas's work (especially the "Star Wars" films) is less controversial than most episodes of "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood." But Lucas has had such a huge impact on the science fiction genre (or at least on mainstream perceptions of the genre), that his merits and impact as a storyteller are debated endlessly.

L. Ron Hubbard - Did he actually believe in Scientology? Is Scientology a religion? Does his writing have any merit? How popular are his books, really? What impact has he had on the field? What's with the new Travolta movie "Battlefield Earth"?

Robert A. Heinlein - Was he a "fascist" or a "racist"? (No, but the question gets asked a lot.) What about Stranger in a Strange Land? Was it one of his best novels, or just his most popular? Was it subversive? What's with all the polygamy in his novels?

George Lucas - What impact has "Star Wars" had on the science fiction genre? Is any of it any good as art? What's with "the Force"?

Orson Scott Card - Is his writing excessively violent? What's with the original "Lost Boys," in which he's a character in a story that never happened? Why is Ender's Game so popular?

James Tiptree, Jr. - Is he a she? (Yes.) Did she invent feminist SF? Or set it back 20 years?

Philip K. Dick - Was he completely insane? If so, when did he become that way? Is his later work some of his best, or complete garbage? Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Piers Anthony - Is he a great writer, or just a much-published one? Is there any religion he hasn't written about or pun he hasn't used?

Harlan Ellison -

Harlan Ellison, the highly acclaimed and controversial science fiction writer, was once asked at a lecture he was giving (http://www.californiaaggie.com/archive/96/06/03/sacred6_3.html), "Isn't it true that you write the sort of stuff you write just to be shocking?" He paused, and then responded:

"You are absolutely dead-on correct. I only write to shock you. What the hell do you expect me to do, lull you even further into the condition of sleepwalking you unfortunately call your life? Perpetuate all the lies and Pollyanna excuses you miserably substitute for courage and ethic and a sense of responsibility? You're right on target, kiddo, when you say I write to shock and startle and rip the curtains off the windows and let the blinding glare in. Since I can't come to your house and jab a flaming stick into your eyeball, I'll settle for getting you so pissed off you throw my book against a wall."

Books That Had Impact

English professor Dr. Linda L. Walling of the University of South Carolina a list of many particularly influential books on a curriculum page for her "Popular Materials and Programming for Adults" course (ttp://www.libsci.sc.edu/linda/755/755bookimpact2.htm). Below are the science fiction/fantasy books from this list. (These books have been indexed in the main Adherents.com literature database.)

Abbott, Edwin A. - Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Adams, Douglas - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Asimov, Isaac - Foundation

Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale

Bellamy, Edward - Looking Backward

Bradbury, Ray - The Martian Chronicles

Burroughs, Edgar Rice - Tarzan of the Apes

Callenbach, Ernest - Ectopia

Frank, Pat - Alas, Babylon

Heinlein, Robert - Stranger in a Strange Land

Herbert, Frank - Dune

Huxley, Aldous - Brave New World

King, Stephen - Carrie

Miller, Walter M., Jr. - A Canticle for Leibowitz

Orwell, George - Animal Farm

Orwell, George - 1984

Shelley, Mary - Frankenstein

Stevenson, Robert Louis - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Verne, Jules - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Wells, H.G. - War of the Worlds

1999 Amazon.com Best Sellers in SF/F

These were 1999's top-selling books specifically from the SF/F category.

Rank

Title

Author

1

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Terry Brooks

2

Cryptonomicon

Neal Stephenson

3

The Path of Daggers

Robert Jordan

4

Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson

5

The Hobbit and the Complete Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, the Return of the King/Boxed Set

200 Major Science Fiction Authors (Reader's Guide, 1979)

The following list of 200 top recommended science fiction authors is from the "200 Authors and Their Major Works" section in the book A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction by Baird Searles, Martin Last, Beth Meacham, and Michael Franklin (with a forward by Samuel R. Delaney). Not that many of today's top-selling authors are not on this list because their success has come after 1979, when this book was published.